Playing Politics with Big Tobacco
From Kate Mewhiney
Earlier this month, the Justice Department shocked everyone-including its own lawyers-when it reduced the penalties being sought in the landmark lawsuit against the Tobacco Industry from $130 billion to $10 billion. The order to trim down the asking price came from Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum, overruling the protests of the government's lawyers on the case. But why?
Why, in the 11th hour of the five-year case, back off so dramatically?
Why deliberately undermine the prosecution's case?
Why hit the Tobacco Industry with what equates to no more than a slap on the wrist?
The Department of Justice has offered no explanation whatsoever, leaving critics to form their own theories. There is a long list of connections between the Tobacco Industry and the Bush administration. Senior Advisor Karl Rove was a political consultant to Phillip Morris, one of the six defendants in the case, during the 1990s. McCallum, who reportedly was the driving force behind the cut back, has in the past worked for law firms representing tobacco companies. And in 2004, the Tobacco Industry contributed $2.7 million to Republicans.
Many involved in the case fear that the decision to change course so abruptly will appear politically motivated, which is exactly what critics of the move have charged. After the announcement of the change was made in court, District Court Judge Gladys Kessler said: "Perhaps it suggests that additional influences have been brought to bear on what the government's case is." An internal ethics investigation has been launched by the Justice Department.
The Bush Administration has made it evident that it never wanted the suit to see the light of day. John Ashcroft, who opposed the suit while in the Senate, tried to first cut funding and then shelve the case entirely as Attorney General. Shortly after taking office in 2001, President Bush said in an interview with Fox News about the lawsuit, "At some point, you know, enough is enough."
And now, Harvard business professor Max Bazerman, who was a government witness in the trial, has come forward to say that he was pressured by the Justice Department to alter his testimony. The Washington Post reports that Bazerman said a lawyer for the prosecution passed along the "strong request" of top Justice Department officials that he soften his recommended penalties for the Tobacco Industry. Bazerman alleges that McCallum threatened to have him removed from the witness list if he did not comply.
To be fair, the lawsuit has carried a political undercurrent since its inception. President Clinton's motives were certainly political when he announced his plans for the case in his 1999 State of the Union address. But the Bush administration is using its considerable resources and power to undermine a crucial piece of litigation in an attempt to protect its own interests. The penalties awarded in this lawsuit could help millions; specifically, the 45 million current smokers in the United States. But it is clear by its reluctance to punish the Tobacco Industry, and by attempts to derail the suit altogether, that the Bush administration is more concerned with protecting the guilty than in aiding the victims.
Earlier this month, the Justice Department shocked everyone-including its own lawyers-when it reduced the penalties being sought in the landmark lawsuit against the Tobacco Industry from $130 billion to $10 billion. The order to trim down the asking price came from Associate Attorney General Robert McCallum, overruling the protests of the government's lawyers on the case. But why?
Why, in the 11th hour of the five-year case, back off so dramatically?
Why deliberately undermine the prosecution's case?
Why hit the Tobacco Industry with what equates to no more than a slap on the wrist?
The Department of Justice has offered no explanation whatsoever, leaving critics to form their own theories. There is a long list of connections between the Tobacco Industry and the Bush administration. Senior Advisor Karl Rove was a political consultant to Phillip Morris, one of the six defendants in the case, during the 1990s. McCallum, who reportedly was the driving force behind the cut back, has in the past worked for law firms representing tobacco companies. And in 2004, the Tobacco Industry contributed $2.7 million to Republicans.
Many involved in the case fear that the decision to change course so abruptly will appear politically motivated, which is exactly what critics of the move have charged. After the announcement of the change was made in court, District Court Judge Gladys Kessler said: "Perhaps it suggests that additional influences have been brought to bear on what the government's case is." An internal ethics investigation has been launched by the Justice Department.
The Bush Administration has made it evident that it never wanted the suit to see the light of day. John Ashcroft, who opposed the suit while in the Senate, tried to first cut funding and then shelve the case entirely as Attorney General. Shortly after taking office in 2001, President Bush said in an interview with Fox News about the lawsuit, "At some point, you know, enough is enough."
And now, Harvard business professor Max Bazerman, who was a government witness in the trial, has come forward to say that he was pressured by the Justice Department to alter his testimony. The Washington Post reports that Bazerman said a lawyer for the prosecution passed along the "strong request" of top Justice Department officials that he soften his recommended penalties for the Tobacco Industry. Bazerman alleges that McCallum threatened to have him removed from the witness list if he did not comply.
To be fair, the lawsuit has carried a political undercurrent since its inception. President Clinton's motives were certainly political when he announced his plans for the case in his 1999 State of the Union address. But the Bush administration is using its considerable resources and power to undermine a crucial piece of litigation in an attempt to protect its own interests. The penalties awarded in this lawsuit could help millions; specifically, the 45 million current smokers in the United States. But it is clear by its reluctance to punish the Tobacco Industry, and by attempts to derail the suit altogether, that the Bush administration is more concerned with protecting the guilty than in aiding the victims.
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